America vs EU?

[sir.rutthed]

I join these pissing contests when an American feels superior, mocks our accents, stereotypes etc.

I only start them when I hear somebody use the American version of a saying that makes no sense.

For example, holding down the fort, as opposed to holding the fort? I agree; when I hear some sayings that make no sense, I feel rather angry. But Americans speak a bastardised form of English, so anger is inevitable, is it not?
And please respond saying you weren't serious about Americans mocking our accents. There is nothing more fucking annoying in the world than a heavy American accent!

Depends on the situation. To me a heavy Swedish accent is the epitome of hilarious.

I'm Swedish, and I completely agree. But the question is, have you heard the satire version or the actual Swedish-moron version? (FYI, the Swedish chef does not speak Swedish and the furniture names from IKEA are (for the most part) not Swedish.)[/quote]

Both, and they're funny in almost equal measures. Swedish chef is pretty damn funny, I gotta say. Really any accent can be funny when taken to that kind of extreme.

Edit: Just for curiosity's sake, what do you consider to be the "American" accent? I don't know how obvious it is to those of you not American, but there are a LOT of accents over here, sometimes changing drastically from one state to the next, or even across neighborhoods (Brooklyn vs. New York), and I'm curious to find out what you consider the "default" American accent.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

EU>US

Do you want to know why?

Proper beer.

You call warm beer proper? We laugh at you! Ha-ha-ha!

Well, I'd drink my beer ice cold if I had to drink that American muck! If I have to drink it, I don't want to have to taste it!

[sub]I actually don't mind lots of American beers, they're just not as good as proper ale by a mile. besides, you can't beat some friendly xenophobia banter over nationalities[/sub]

 

[rokkolpo]

EU>US

Do you want to know why?

Proper beer.

You call warm beer proper? We laugh at you! Ha-ha-ha!

I think that's more of a british thing, rather then european.
I might be wrong tho, not much of a beer expert.

Beer Expert Arrival!

Verdict: Indeed that's only British.

Beer Expert Departure!

 

[Zykon TheLich]

Come on OP, you had to know this would backfire no matter what you said in your 1st post.

I do occasionally jump in to correct things when I see factual inaccuracies or assumptions about certain things that just aren't in line with stats and such but generally I leave them alone.

 

[The Austin]

EU>US

Do you want to know why?

Proper beer.

You call warm beer proper? We laugh at you! Ha-ha-ha!

Well, I'd drink my beer ice cold if I had to drink that American muck! If I have to drink it, I don't want to have to taste it!

[sub]I actually don't mind lots of American beers, they're just not as good as proper ale by a mile. besides, you can't beat some friendly xenophobia banter over nationalities[/sub]

ARG! You dirty communists make me sick! That's why I live in 'MERICA!

[small]Xenophobia is our national past time.[/small]

 

[Nickolai77]

I disagree: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accession_of_Iceland_to_the_European_Union
I'm thinking you'll be in by 2012.
And the only reason you want in is to get euros since your currency is practically worthless.
The latest polls show that a majority want to join EU.
I'm not trying to start a fight with you, I'm just trying to have an intelligent, factual conversation

Dude, you just quoted Wikipedia. That's like quoting the psychotic scrawlings you find on bathroom stalls. (speaking of which; when I was in London over the summer I found the discussions taking place on the walls of the stalls by speaker's corner very enlightening.) Putting aside that wiki is about as useful in an argument as beating your opponent over the head with an actual encyclopedia let me get on topic.

Why do the differences really matter at all? All something like this does is foster animosity between both sides of the argument and in the end accomplishes nothing more than leaving everyone more pissed off than when they started.

Wikipedia isn't that bad. Most of the articles there are reliable and concurs with the reading i do for my university courses. I wouldn't cite wikipedia in any of my essay's, but it makes useful introductory or background reading for any subject.

 

[GeorgW]

Norway is not EU. But I do agree with you otherwise.

I have been using the shortened form of "Europe" i.e. "EU" before the inception of the European Union, which - if we get technical about it, is the "E.U." not the "EU".

While that is true, it's still confusing. How hard is it to write Europe? And I'm sure there are others out there that don't know the difference.

I do occasionally jump in to correct things when I see factual inaccuracies or assumptions about certain things that just aren't in line with stats and such but generally I leave them alone.

The you have better restraint than me. Or you're just not as bored, not sure which.

 

[RanD00M]

My father owns a farming company that grows Roses among other things, its been a family company for over 50 years. If we join the EU then shops will just start importing foreign Roses/products for slightly less money, and then his company as well as all of the similar companies in the country are fucked.

Well has your father ever heard of the word EXPORT. You know, the opposite of import. He could make something from that.
And imported products would not rule the market. Because we have grown accustomed to our own nations produce, and as it is now, most of our product is better than anything that other countries make.

And I'm going to drop this word again, EXPORT!!! Farmers and Fishermen and all around produce workers would be able to export. Many people in the nearest European countries will admit that Icelandic milk, cheese and butter is quite fucking delicious. And us tapping that market could help us out a lot in the long run.

 

[Wintermoot]

the EU sucks! almost all of the taxmoney goes to needy countrys that only join to get rid of debts! atleast you guys have NUKES! those rule

 

[KeyMaster45]

Are you talking about words like neighbour/neighbor and colour/color? Because it was originally ou, but the Americans were too stupid to spell, so they had to change it.

I realize that I may be coming off as some nationalistic EU dumbass, but I want to assure you I'm not. I love the American culture, especially American TV and movies. I simply, for once, want to have a muture conversation about this topic, and see it as my duty to correct everyone like a damn factnazi.

Yet you just called us all idiots simply because our dialect and vernacular evolved differently than yours once the two cultures were separated by an entire ocean. Frankly you've lost any possible credibility you may have had after that statement. No, you don't come off as a "nationalistic EU dumbass" you just flat come across as a dumbass and a douche who obviously harbors some sort of subconscious animosity towards the US culture; otherwise you wouldn't be spouting such ignorant and hateful dialogue as "the Americans were too stupid to spell".

Actually, you want to be a fact-nazi; let's rumble. Technically calling citizens of the US "Americans" is so grossly incorrect it's a wonder you made it out of grade school. Using the term "Americans" implies that the US has control over the entirety of both North and South America or that you are referring to all those who live on the American continents. In one instance you're making a gross generalization and the other you're confusing an economic sphere of influence with actual annexation of land.

The EU is not a country on it's own; it is a coalition of countries. All countries that signed on to the treaty still retain their autonomy. Were the EU an actual autonomous country then there would be significantly less seats at the UN since they would have all been consolidated into a single representative seat for the EU. What's more the EU has a loose grip on power over the countries signed on to it at best since the last I checked the UK still had not converted over to using the Euro and pretty much told the EU's "governing body" to bugger off when it disapproved of their budget proposal earlier in the year. Long story short, you cannot be a "nationalistic EU dumbass" unless the EU were an actual autonomous country.

You claim to be in command of facts, yet you don't display even an infinitesimal grasp upon the basics.

 

[Shycte]

Well, this turned out to be a mature discussion now didn't it?

 

[Shycte]

People you are all forgetting the major thing.

us Dutch have legalised weed!
yeah...sorry for that.

Well yes but, haven't you legalised like everything?

 

[Nickolai77]

My father owns a farming company that grows Roses among other things, its been a family company for over 50 years. If we join the EU then shops will just start importing foreign Roses/products for slightly less money, and then his company as well as all of the similar companies in the country are fucked.

Well has your father ever heard of the word EXPORT. You know, the opposite of import. He could make something from that.
And imported products would not rule the market. Because we have grown accustomed to our own nations produce, and as it is now, most of our product is better than anything that other countries make.

And I'm going to drop this word again, EXPORT!!! Farmers and Fishermen and all around produce workers would be able to export. Many people in the nearest European countries will admit that Icelandic milk, cheese and butter is quite fucking delicious. And us tapping that market could help us out a lot in the long run.

Just to back you up:


Iceland is in the European Economic Area, and so while it can freely trade with the EU, it has to adopt all EU legislation related to the EU single market, except with regards to agriculture and fisheries.

But basically, joining the EU would give Iceland more political power because, with Iceland being represented on the EU council, and with Icelanders in the Commission and Parliament, Iceland will have a say on legislation which effects Iceland. Otherwise, Iceland is virtually a satellite state because it has no say on EU legislation.

Plus, considering how shaken up the Icelandic currency was after the banking crisis, joining the Eurozone might be a better idea.

 

[GeorgW]

Are you talking about words like neighbour/neighbor and colour/color? Because it was originally ou, but the Americans were too stupid to spell, so they had to change it.

I realize that I may be coming off as some nationalistic EU dumbass, but I want to assure you I'm not. I love the American culture, especially American TV and movies. I simply, for once, want to have a muture conversation about this topic, and see it as my duty to correct everyone like a damn factnazi.

Yet you just called us all idiots simply because our dialect and vernacular evolved differently than yours once the two cultures were separated by an entire ocean. Frankly you've lost any possible credibility you may have had after that statement. No, you don't come off as a "nationalistic EU dumbass" you just flat come across as a dumbass and a douche who obviously harbors some sort of subconscious animosity towards the US culture; otherwise you wouldn't be spouting such ignorant and hateful dialogue as "the Americans were too stupid to spell".

Actually, you want to be a fact-nazi; let's rumble. Technically calling citizens of the US "Americans" is so grossly incorrect it's a wonder you made it out of grade school. Using the term "Americans" implies that the US has control over the entirety of both North and South America or that you are referring to all those who live on the American continents. In one instance you're making a gross generalization and the other you're confusing an economic sphere of influence with actual annexation of land.

The EU is not a country on it's own; it is a coalition of countries. All countries that signed on to the treaty still retain their autonomy. Were the EU an actual autonomous country then there would be significantly less seats at the UN since they would have all been consolidated into a single representative seat for the EU. What's more the EU has a loose grip on power over the countries signed on to it at best since the last I checked the UK still had not converted over to using the Euro and pretty much told the EU's "governing body" to bugger off when it disapproved of their budget proposal earlier in the year. Long story short, you cannot be a "nationalistic EU dumbass" unless the EU were an actual autonomous country.

You claim to be in command of facts, yet you don't display even an infinitesimal grasp upon the basics.

Actually, I've already been corrected on that and apologized. Please read through the thread before posting. And I never said I knew any fact, just that I didn't want to come off as someone that do. Because I don't.

 

[Razgovory]

I'm curious, how can someone be an "EU nationalist"? The EU isn't even a country, let a alone a nation. In practice it's little more then a super-national regulatory agency. A closer analogy would be the EU vs the OAS.

 

[GeorgW]

I'm curious, how can someone be an "EU nationalist"?

I was just trying to turn a phrase...

 

[Shycte]

My father owns a farming company that grows Roses among other things, its been a family company for over 50 years. If we join the EU then shops will just start importing foreign Roses/products for slightly less money, and then his company as well as all of the similar companies in the country are fucked.

Well has your father ever heard of the word EXPORT. You know, the opposite of import. He could make something from that.
And imported products would not rule the market. Because we have grown accustomed to our own nations produce, and as it is now, most of our product is better than anything that other countries make.

And I'm going to drop this word again, EXPORT!!! Farmers and Fishermen and all around produce workers would be able to export. Many people in the nearest European countries will admit that Icelandic milk, cheese and butter is quite fucking delicious. And us tapping that market could help us out a lot in the long run.

Just to back you up:


Iceland is in the European Economic Area, and so while it can freely trade with the EU, it has to adopt all EU legislation related to the EU single market, except with regards to agriculture and fisheries.

But basically, joining the EU would give Iceland more political power because, with Iceland being represented on the EU council, and with Icelanders in the Commission and Parliament, Iceland will have a say on legislation which effects Iceland. Otherwise, Iceland is virtually a satellite state because it has no say on EU legislation.

Plus, considering how shaken up the Icelandic currency was after the banking crisis, joining the Eurozone might be a better idea.

Don't really know how much political influence they could get though, with Germany and Great Britain basicly running the whole thing. You get seats based on your population number you know.

 

[fishman279]

I get into international pissing contests almost every time I see my friends. I am English. I live in France. It's quite problematic at times, the best being the time me and my best friend were shouting (at the top of our voices) at each other about France's impact on WWII... In the middle of a history lesson. The teacher was not best pleased. Good times...